The Shamokin Police Department reported 3,615 crimes to the Uniform Crime Reporting System between 2005 and 2009 during the tenures of retired chiefs Richard Nichols and John Brown - Nichols for the first year, and Brown the next four. That's compared to 1,514, 58 percent less, under former Chief Edward Griffiths and current Chief Darwin Tobias III, who took over in May 2014.
Shamokin's total crimes reported during the last 10 years is 5,129. Coal Township tallied 5,871 during that time, a difference of 14.5 percent. The number of crimes per year reported for Shamokin ranged from a low of 261 in 2010 to a high of 933 in 2005, a difference of 72 percent. In the township during that time, the range was 463 to 837, a difference of 44.7 percent.
Shamokin reported 8.5 percent more crimes in the first five years compared to Coal Township, but 69.4 percent less in the last five years.
But the numbers are on the rise. The first four months of 2014 saw 74 crimes reported, a rate of 18.5 a month. The monthly rate for the last eight months rose to 38.5 with 308 total crimes reported. There were 27 crimes reported in January through the middle of last week.
Reached Friday, Griffiths defended the data, expressed pride in it, and said it was a testament to the work of the department's officers. Policing, he said, isn't only about reporting crime and making arrests; prevention is a major role, and that's not reflected in the figures.
Tobias said last week the figures weren't reflective of the amount of work being performed by officers. Mayor William D. Milbrand believes the data is inaccurate, and opposes suggestions to close the department overnight or end minimum staffing requirements.
- Eric Scicchitano